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| The RCA Strato World Shortwave radio that I got for Christmas in 1967 and sold in 2010. This is the actual photo I used when advertising it on Craigslist. |
It was Christmas of 1967 when I received an RCA Strato World Solid State 6 Band Radio. I was in high school at the time. For some time I had wanted a short wave radio. I had first seen one in about 1962 at one one of my friend's house when we were living in San Diego. To be able to pick up radio stations from around the world intrigued me. By the time I received mine as a Christmas gift the transistor models had apparently gone down in price enough to where my parents felt like they could buy me one.
As I began to explore the capabilities of what exactly my radio could do, I soon became somewhat disappointed that everything that was mentioned in the owner's manual was not that easy to find. For one thing I never was able to find police or emergency bands. On the long wave band I did find the weather reporting from the airport, which was initially interesting, but something that quickly became a bore to which to listen. There were various "stations" emitting weird pulsating sounds and other unidentifiable noises as well as other stations with jabber that didn't make much sense to me.
The short wave bands had a bit more content but it was not long before I discovered that the stations from around the world broadcast for only short periods of an hour or so at regular broadcasting times throughout the day. Fortunately the radio came with a station guide that told what stations and times the broadcasts in English would occur.
Mostly I would just scan the bands to find random broadcasts. One of the most interesting to me was the regular evening broadcast from Havana, Cuba. This station came in more clear than most, but of course they were closer to where I was. Every evening the English broadcast would come on for an hour starting about 8 PM if my memory serves me correctly. I became a nightly listener.
The broadcast consisted of a combination of Cuban music and talk. This was my introduction to a Cuban orchestral style that was similar to some of the music I had heard by band leaders like Desi Arnaz or Xavier Cugat, except more melodic and less "babalou" and fast percussive rhythms. The sound was heavy on piano, strings, and flute with occasional vocals. The music was beautiful and I was entranced by it though there was never enough for me.
The other thing that I found oddly compelling was the duo of broadcasters who delivered the news with a Cuban bias and the propaganda about the success of the Revolutionary state. The male and female radio hosts would take turns delivering the Cuban spin on what their government wanted the world to hear. Their voices were mellifluous and reassuring, speaking impeccable English with an peculiar accent unlike any I had heard before. Somehow they made me think of George Orwell's 1984.
To listen to the broadcast you'd think that Cuba was heaven on Earth. I almost wanted to be there experiencing the glory of the revolution and the solidarity of the people. I'd never heard the word "solidarity" before that time, but it was a word they used regularly every night. There was something about the way they said "solidarity" that made Cuba sound so wonderful.
I knew it was propaganda, but it was fun to listen to and even educational to some extent. Much of what they said was based on truth though maybe somewhat exaggerated. If only they had talked a little less and played more of that exquisite Cuban music, they might have had me convinced that Cuban was indeed heaven on Earth.
Have you ever listened to short-wave radio? If so, did you have any favorite broadcasts to listen to? Do you think you might be taking a Cuban vacation in the future now that relations are being normalized?
Be sure to visit my Battle of the Bands post at Tossing It Out on Monday June 15th!
